The Daily Illini: Technograph Edition Fall 2021

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THE

VOLUME 137: FALL 2021

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NEWS

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Pritzker announces state vaccine mandate

By Aliza Majid Assistant News Editor

Governor Pritzker announced a new COVID-19 protocol Thursday that will require all state employees and university students to be vaccinated and enforce a mask policy in all public buildings regardless of vaccination status.

After Pritzker’s announcement, the University released a Massmail that reiterated the fact that all University members must be vaccinated and wear masks going forward.

“Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a mandate that all state employees and university students must be vaccinated against COVID-19. With the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, we have even more evidence that vaccines are safe and effective,” Chancellor Robert Jones said in the Massmail.

All University members must receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine

by Sept. 5 to continue their semester on

THE DAILY ILLINI 1001 S. Wright Street Champaign, IL 61820 (217) 337-8300

verified Vaccination Record Card in the MyMcKinley Portal.

Anyone unable to receive the vaccine for any medical or religious reasons must request an exemption and will have to continue testing for COVID-19 throughout the semester.

Pritzker also initiated a statewide mask mandate in all public buildings, which has already been active on campus as University members will continue wearing masks indoors.

People who do not comply with the new University vaccine and mask CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI requirements will face disciplinary A pharmacist at the Church of the Living God action. fills a syringe with a Moderna vaccine on Feb. In order to find nearby vaccinations 20. Governer J.B. Pritzker recently announced appointments visit the vaccines.gov a state-wide vaccination mandate. website for more information or make an appointment to be vaccinated at CRCE campus. through the MyMcKinley Portal if you Individuals who aren’t already are a student. vaccinated should continue testing until they’re fully vaccinated and receive a alizam2@dailyillini.com The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

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NEWS

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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Marching Illini alters pregame performance

By George Phelan Staff Writer

The Marching Illini debuted several changes made to their band at the first University football game of the season Saturday. The changes alter the pregame introduction, with an entrance from the south tunnel of the stadium and a new fanfare designed to engage the audience more.

Unfortunately, the debut of the Marching Illini’s redesigned uniforms will have to wait for the current heatwave to pass, and the band performed in their usual summer attire instead.

The key change displayed at the Nebraska game was the altered routine.

Barry Houser, director of athletic bands at the University, went over both the purpose and the nature of the changes.

“We typically line up on the field, so that everyone can see us and that’s where pregame begins, but we’re now starting from the horseshoe,” Houser said. “So as you come in the south tunnel, you’re not going to see the Marching Illini until pregame actually begins.”

During this new entrance, the Marching Illini also reintroduced the Big Ten flag display, which had been discontinued at the University in the late seventies.

“We’ll have 15 individuals holding each flag representing the 14 institutions representing the Big Ten, and also

the conference flag,” Houser said.

When asked about the new fanfare the Marching Illini would be playing before the game, Nisha Sen, senior in LAS, said, “It starts off with a slower fanfare and then it goes into a couple of different versions of the iconic beginning of Oskee in different keys until we eventually hit Oskee from the hold, which everyone knows, and then we march down the field, and we get to where we start our drill for the pregame show.”

Not on display were the new uniforms made for the Marching Illini, although Houser and others were still excited to discuss the alterations that had been made.

“They look very similar to what we’ve worn in the past, however, there’s a bit of each uniform that we’ve worn here at the University of Illinois 153 years ago in this newer uniform,” Houser said. “It has different components that really tie in the different uniforms that we’ve had here.”

Alongside the inclusion of older elements and the removal of the gauntlets, the uniforms also feature custommade buttons featuring the Marching Illini logo.

“We have no more gauntlets, so the sleeves are now a bit different,” Sen said. “They look a bit crisper, although I do miss the gauntlets.”

LANIE HIBEL THE DAILY ILLINI Members of the trombone section of the Marching Illini perform on the steps of Foellinger Auditorium during Quad Day on Aug. 22. The band has changed its routine and uniforms to improve fan reactions at sporting events.

With the pandemic enforcing restrictions on game attendance, the Marching Illini were unable to perform at football games last year. The new pregame and uniforms are just as much of

a callback to the University days before the pandemic as they are a new addition to the Marching Illini’s routine. georgep2@dailyillini.com

ISR dining hall allows full capacity, updates machinery

By Sophie Casaburi Staff Writer

For the fall 2021 semester, the ISR dining hall is on track to be fully operationalized to serve the increasing flux of students.

Following the $73 million dining renovations that concluded in the fall 2020 semester, the dining hall was ready to fully reopen. However, since COVID-19 limited staff and student capacity to 63 percent, only part of the dining facility was utilized.

The dining facility consists of nine “micro-restaurants,” with food ranging from pizza and pasta at Saporito, Asian cuisine at Fusion 48 and dessert and coffee at Café a la Crumb.

“I think the overall facility is about fresh CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI food and made-to-order at those locations,” Premade "I"-shaped noodles sit in a holding said Alma R. Sealine, director of Univercontainer at the new ISR dining hall on Friday. sity Housing. “There’s a variety of differThe dining facility has reopened at full capac- ent options that hopefully meet the variety ity following a $73 million renovation. of different needs of our students, and we

want to provide an environment that is welcoming and joyful while they are there.”

Each micro-restaurant is equipped with its own specialized machinery to make a variety of different foods.

“We wanted to have each location to have something that was kind of a signature where people would come in and go, ‘Oh, that’s cool!’,” said Thurman Etchison, assistant director of Dining Services.

One of the advanced machines at Saporito is a pasta machine from Arcobaleno Pasta Machines in Pennsylvania.

It makes a variety of different pastas ranging from lasagna to rotini to “I” shapes, and can make up to 250 pounds of pasta an hour.

“That machine is an investment in our future here, it is to provide good service and product for our students; it is a nice showpiece,” Etchison said. “It’s an industrial piece of equipment and those things are not inexpensive … it has to last, it has to be durable and it has to do what it needs to do.”

Etchison expects the machine to last for a minimum of fifteen years and that it will pay for over its lifespan. The machine is also planned to make pasta for other dining units as well as to retail and sell “I”shaped pasta.

In addition, each micro-restaurant has its own design features to coordinate with its type of cuisine.

For example, Grains & Greens has a green-colored design, Grillworks has a design inspired by a southern smokehouse, and Latitude has blue and green architectural panels to mimic ocean waves.

“A lot of thought went into (the design),” said Etchison. “We took a two-day trip to Chicago. We visited 40 restaurants in two days, popped in and looked around. What do we like? What do we not like? It was a very very long process, but I think it worked out well. I’m very proud of what we’ve done.”

sophiec4@dailyillini.com

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The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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LIFE & CULTURE

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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A cappella groups host in-person auditions

By Jenni Kallenback Assistant Features Editor

After nearly a year and a half of online activities, University a cappella groups are getting back into the swing of things.

Five groups hosted Audition Week 2021 in person from Aug. 23-25, and the Illinois Rip Chords, a 15-member all-female a cappella group, saw huge numbers of auditionees.

“I would say the turnout was a lot more because of that eagerness to partake in something and be involved,” said President Ria Ravi.

Ravi said she saw more people auditioning this year than during her sophomore year two years ago and that it was influenced by COVID-19 making it difficult to connect with RSOs for the past year and a half.

This year, the Rip Chords got to meet face to face with potential members, hear them sing live and sing with them to see if their voices blend. Online auditions were offered as well, and Ravi said that there were 80-90 auditionees on Aug. 25.

The Rip Chords were created in 1992 by five women that all dated members of the Xtension Chords, an all-male a cappella group.

The University of Illinois Xtension Chords a cappella group performs at Quad Day on Aug. 22. “(The Extension Chords) are our best friends,” Ravi said. “We hang out with them pretty much every day.”

The Xtension Chords, a 13-member allmale a cappella group, saw high numbers at in-person auditions as well.

“We have bid day gigs coming up and performances coming up that are all in-person, so we wanted to make sure we got everyone there in-person just to make sure they were comfortable with that and they matched well with the group,” said Business Manager and Social Chair, Matt Yaniz. Both groups

are looking forward to performing at live events and competing at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. Yaniz said the competition is just like how it’s portrayed in the movie “Pitch Perfect.”

“Getting to see people sing live and seeing people excited about being able to perform again, that’s just really inspiring for what we want to accomplish this year,” said President David Hansen.

Previous to COVID-19, the Rip Chords performed at hockey games, basketball games and wrestling matches; the Xten-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE XTENSION CHORDS

sion Chords typically had one to two gigs per week.

“While it’s fun to record stuff and put stuff out online, the reason a lot of us joined this group was to have that experience of singing together and singing live,” Hansen said. “There’s something exciting where you can’t hide behind a mic, you can’t hide behind a recording when you’re performing live, you’re doing it live and you have to really rely on each other.” jk31@dailyillini.com

Badminton intercollegiate club bonds community

By Rohit Jammu Assistant Features Editor

The Illini Badminton Intercollegiate Sports Club was founded at the University over a decade ago. While IBIS is the University’s competitive badminton club, it is still considered recreational by its members.

They have members from various backgrounds and nationalities including USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, China, Korea, Germany, Sweden, England, India and others — the club is open to students at the University as well as locals in the C-U area.

Allen Shen, sophomore in Engineering, joined the club during his freshmen year and is on the committee board with the title of treasurer.

“I manage all the finances for the club for the tournaments,” Shen said. “All the commissions for practice and all the money we make from the tournaments we host are all under my watch.”

Shen said the club makes most of its money through hosting tournaments.

Although they couldn’t host one last year because of COVID-19, they will be hosting one sometime this semester.

“We usually host one or two tourna-

ments called the UIUC Open,” Shen said.

“We usually host it in the ARC and sometimes in Chicago.”

Shen said anyone could sign up, and they usually didn’t have too many people coming in from other universities because badminton isn’t as big of a sport.

However, they do still have quite a few locals, kids from high schools in the area and sometimes people from Chicago that come down to play.

“We are having our tryouts, next Monday, August 30th, 6-8 p.m., Gym 3 at the ARC,” Shen said. “This year is going to be exciting because most people are back on campus.”

Corey Shen, senior in LAS and vice president said that after tryouts and inducting new members into the club, practices are very flexible.

“We have practice three times a week, two hours each session — at least that’s how it is this semester,” Corey said.

He said for this semester, the practice times they had allocated were on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, from 6 to 8 p.m. Anyone who was part of the club could come in whenever they wanted during those times and play for however long they wanted to.

“During those times, its members only in the courts that we reserved — which includes University students and some locals as well,” Corey said.

“Aside from practice and tournaments, we do go to other states and play in tournaments too,” Corey said.

Shen said that they had been to Purdue, Wisconsin and other places over the course of his time in the club.

Corey, who was at the Quad Day booth for the club, said he too was very excited for this year’s tryouts.

“Since we’re officially a competitive club — we don’t take in just about everyone,” Corey said. “But this year at the Quad Day, we managed to fill in about 10 pages of names — which is quite a lot. I don’t expect everyone who signed on to the mailing list to show up, but regardless we had quite a large crowd this time.”

Rohan Ramani, senior in Business, explained how the University gives the club and its members priority when booking courts for the week.

“It’s actually really helpful because it helps us have a planned practice schedule and also ensures that we don’t end up having no courts booked for a particular day,” Ramani said.

Ramani, who joined the club in his freshman year, only recently became the president of the club and will remain so until next May. Ramani said that over the summer his friends who weren’t part of the club constantly complained to him about the unavailability of courts. Although badminton isn’t an incredibly popular sport in the U.S., the courts at the University swiftly book out.

“One thing that does get to me is that since the University doesn’t have an official badminton team — we don’t receive much funding,” Ramani said.

Badminton being a club sport leaves little room for extensive competitions.

As a result, every tournament the club attends or hosts, they do so independently and not as a direct representative of the University.

IBIS also attended Yonex Eastern Conference Midwest Division — which was a team Championship comprised of around eight to nine matches for each team. The Championship was held in October 2019 and IBIS placed first, securing a large trophy. rjammu2@dailyillini.com

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The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

NEWS

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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Siebel Center launches classes, collaboration studios

By Royal Shrestha Staff Writer

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The interior of the Siebel Center, 1208 S. Fourth St., Champaign, offers modern learning spaces.

“We will be holding a series of free workshops throughout the semester where all students are welcomed,” Shehab said. “In addition, we will have two classes, introduction to design thinking as well as design for social impact.”

With much to explore at SCD, many students have already begun touring and using the spaces available to them.

“On one of my morning runs, I passed by 50-60 students just taking a visit to the Siebel, ” Shehab said. “It’s a popular space and we already have many reservations for certain areas at Siebel each day.”

Bishal Baskota, sophomore in LAS, described visiting SCD as a great experience and the quiet spaces it offered allowed him and his friends to collaborate on their first class project together.

“This is my first time on campus and I was looking into study spaces for my next few years here,” Baskota said.

“As I explored campus during my first week, I was especially taken back by Siebel’s exterior. The exterior almost reminded me of Apple Park with glass surrounding the entire building.”

With the slow transition back to inperson classes and events, you can expect SCD to offer many new workshops, classes and events which can be found on their website.

On Aug. 2, the Siebel Center for Design opened its doors to students for the first time.

The new center’s mission is to serve as a hub for innovation and collaboration for all students regardless of major, according to Lisa Bralts, associate director of marketing.

“Siebel has many spaces for students to work in, ” Bralts said. “Our gallery allows students to work with their friends or take classes in an enormous, gorgeous space. Spaces such as starlight cafe and amphitheater allow for discussions, workshops and classes to take place.”

Other spaces include a workshop and tool shop space that offers 3D printers, laser cutters, woodworking power tools and other equipment. Students without experience can also receive hands-on learning at SCD. There are also upper and lower-level collaboration studios. The SCD’s upper levels studios are available for class instruction and small group meetings.

The lower level studio allows for students and campus RSOs to use as a group space.

Salim Shehab, postdoctoral research associate who currently leads SCD’s assessment and Research Lab, described the many exciting opportunities available for students at SCD. royals2@dailyillini.com

Campus Instructional Facility opens with focus on flexible learning

By Alex Chang Staff Writer

The Campus Instructional Facility opens for fall 2021 with a focus on flexible learning and active teaching compared to previous University lecture halls.

With five floors, 122,000 square feet and room for over 2,400 students across 23 classrooms, the CIF is the newest multi-college and multi-department building available for classes. Due to its focus on integrating technology into the classroom, it is also one of the most modern.

“With other buildings, you had all these issues … like projectors or blackboards or desks being not the greatest … but with CIF, there is all this new technology that really helps the teaching experience,” said Hyung Soo Lee, teacher’s assistant in CIF. This technology falls in line with the main goal of CIF: to facilitate small group discussions and peer interaction

instead of a single lecturer speaking down to students. Single lecture speaking has been found to be less effective and less engaging towards students, according to the USC Dornsife School of Teaching.

Lectures have been completely revamped in the CIF with the introduction of In the Round lecture halls.

Instead of a layout with a lecturer in the front and students taking desks behind, In the Round has a center podium with seating arranged in concentric circles, creating a more engaged and intimate feeling to large lectures.

However, lecture halls are not the only improvement that CIF has made to traditional learning spaces. CIF’s two-story tall Monumental Steps area is one of the largest in the entire building. The Monumental Steps area is an open study space designed to facilitate individual and group learning.

CIF also has many improvements in building efficiency, all in line with the

energy efficient buildings on campus.

“Geothermal heat systems and smart glass windows allows for much more efficient heating and cooling, which along with our other improvements should allow for around a 46-52% reduction in heating and cooling costs,” said Mohamed Attalla, executive director of Facilities and Services.

The University has been pushing for new classrooms and study areas that promote this kind of small-group engagement, called Illinois Flexible Learning PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ILLINOIS NEWS BUREAU Experience spaces. The University is The new Campus Instructional Facility, also also working to transition existing spacknown as the CIF, is located at 1405 W. es to the new IFLEX standard.

Springfield Ave. in Urbana. New classrooms “IFLEX is this program that has been and study areas promote small group shown to increase student engagement, engagement that students can thrive in. and it’s our goal as the university to increase these spaces either through University’s Climate Action Plan goal updating existing ones or designing new of having net-zero carbon emissions by spaces with IFLEX in mind,” Attalla 2050. Planned to be certified as LEED said.

Platinum (an international green-building certification), CIF is one of the most alexrc2@dailyillini.com

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The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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Inside SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience through Mike Hopkins' eyes

By Gwyn Skiles Features Editor

When Mike Hopkins, Commander of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience, went to turn the power back on, he paused to look at the stars glistening so brightly they filled the night sky with different colors.

His neck began to pulse as he hovered thousands of miles above his home in what he said is a once in a lifetime view.

“Life is good on Earth and it’s a very special place, so enjoy every moment that you have down here and pursue those dreams and pursue those passions.”

reflect on everything — on life and just how amazing it is and what an incredible planet we live on and what an incredible universe this is.”

Hopkins left Earth in the thick of a global pandemic — an experience only few share.

When Resilience took off in November of 2020, Hopkins said it represented the perseverance humankind has had throughout the pandemic. “(The pandemic) was a big motivation for the naming of our vehicle ‘Resilience’ because it really was a recognition of not only SpaceX and NASA and the teams that got us to the launch and were able to keep things rolling, building our vehicle and continue our training but really it was a recognition of everybody in the world that had been going through so much and

ing together for months. He said it was nice to not have to worry about contracting the virus, but the pain of the pandemic was still very real.

“Of course you’re watching what’s going on down below and you feel for what your families are going through, what your friends are going through — what the whole world is going through,” Hopkins said. “It was nice to be able to be in an environment where you didn’t have to take all of the same precautions that everyone else was having but then you also felt a little bit disconnected from what everyone else was going through.”

Hopkins said the pandemic added extra stress and duty to the mission and their families.

“It added a little bit of extra stress on the families,” Hopkins said. “Now all of a sudden the risks of getting COVID-19 didn’t just

impact (me and my crew’s) work or our families, but it also potentially affected the space program.”

Hopkins has two college-age sons that he said had to take extra precautions to protect their Dad from getting sick. He said his wife, a school nurse, also had extra burdens and restrictions to keep him healthy.

Hopkins came back to Earth in May and since, he said he’s been very busy.

However, the moment when Hopkins splashed back onto Earth he felt relief.

“It’s an incredible feeling when you finally splash down,” he said. “And part of that feeling is a big sigh because for the entire time that you’ve been on orbit, you’re on duty. Even if it’s a day off, if something

-Mike Hopkins NASA Commander of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience When speaking with Mike Hopkins, a University of Illinois alumni, his voice was filled with passion as he attempted to describe the unworldly experiences he had on Resilience.

“It took your breath away. The Milky Way was just right there,” Hopkins said. “I felt like I could reach out and touch it. It was definitely one of those moments that causes you to

accomplished so much during a very difficult time,” he said.

Hopkins said once the team was launched into space, they didn’t need to wear masks because they had all been tested and would be liv-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA

goes wrong you have to respond. And so when you finally splash down, you realize that you’ve handed the torch off to somebody else and you’re no longer responsible for the safe operation of the international space station, at least for that moment.”

Immediately after landing, Hopkins had to go through numerous medical experiments, rehabs and debriefs and it never slowed down for days after.

This is so the researchers and scientists can record everything while it’s still fresh and their bodies haven’t fully adjusted back to life on Earth.

“It’s just one of those things that I think a lot of people don’t realize that even after a six month mission and you land or splash down, the mission’s really not over,” he said. “You’ve got quite a bit of time that you have to dedicate to that mission.”

Hopkins said he’s learned a lot from his time with the space program and he’s always grateful to get the opportunity to share with students.

“30 years ago I was right where (students) were,” Hopkins said. “For any students that have dreams to go to space, it’s definitely possible.

I think the opportunities for people that are in college now and the opportunities to be some of those people to go to Mars for the first time are very real and very exciting.”

Even if you don’t want to go to space, Hopkins said there is a need for everyone and every career.

“Even if space isn’t something that interests you or being the person up in space is not something that interests you, none of it happens without all of the engineers and the scientists and the doctors,” Hopkins said.

“You just name it all of the careers that people are going into out of the University of Illinois, the space program depends on all of them,” Hopkins also passed along advice and perspective for those that don’t have interest in space.

“Whatever it is you’re passionate about, pursue that with everything you’ve got because one of the things I’ve learned from having left the planet is we have it good down here,” Hopkins said. “Life is good on Earth and it’s a very special place so enjoy every moment that you have down here and pursue those dreams and pursue those passions.” gskiles2@dailyillini.com

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY NASA

Top: NASA spacewalker, Expedition 64 Flight Engineer, and Illinois alumnus Michael Hopkins works to ready the International Space station's port-side truss structure for future solar array upgrades on Jan. 27. Bottom Left: NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins poses for an official portrait in a training version of the U.S. spacesuit, also known as an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) on Sept. 8, 2017. Bottom Right: NASA astronaut, Expedition 64 Flight Engineer, and Illinois alumnus Michael Hopkins conducts research activities inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Fiber Optic Production experiment. The space manufacturing investigation creates optical fibers in microgravity with high commercial value that should exhibit far superior qualities to those produced on Earth Dec. 10.

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OPINIONS

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Unregulated technology propels Afghan collapse

By The Daily Illini Editorial Board The collapse of the United States’ twenty-year odyssey within Afghanistan is both brutal and foreseeable.

For nearly all of its occupation, the U.S. was the thin line between a tragic Taliban restoration or an ever-evasive order. Nevertheless, with the Taliban swiftly subjugating the nation U.S. forces sought to leave in a competent condition, it is clear that the U.S. was outfoxed not only in a physical manner but as well as through a technological theatre.

Plenty can be argued about the U.S.’s physical operation over the past two decades in Afghanistan. However, focusing on the technological front, matters appear opposite to what one would expect from a superpower versus guerrilla combat.

Technology — in its unregulated and open nature — is central to the Taliban’s reconquest of Afghanistan.

With their incorporation of recent technologic innovations, the Taliban’s sudden recrudesce should come as no surprise: the Taliban of 2001 is remarkably divergent from the wired-in group today.

Paul Mozur and Zia Ur Rehman of The New York Times accurately account that the Taliban’s utilization of communication services has paved their way to power once more.

Whether it be the Taliban attempting to subdue panic by reassuring “female health workers they could keep their job,” or disclosing to a religious minority group “that they were free and protected,” the Taliban is exploiting technology to their advantage.

Ironically, when the group originally controlled Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, the internet was promptly outlawed.

However, this initial internet ban never dissuaded the Taliban from manipulating the media to project distorted order and strength.

In an analysis by the Atlantic Council, Emerson T. Brooking describes how the Taliban’s media arm has always set their objective on establishing legitimacy: “Both among the local populace and in the eyes of the international community, and undermining the U.S.-backed Afghan government,” the Taliban craved validity through villainous media maneuvering.

Furthermore, Brooking asserts that — despite their erroneous promises — the Taliban’s philosophy has not evolved, “Instead, what has changed is their willingness to use modern technology to realize their medieval ends.”

While the Taliban immersed itself into the digital age, the U.S.’s failure in Afghanistan can be attested to its

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

lethargic innovations in militaristic and technological strategies.

In the MIT Technology Review, writers Christopher Ankersen and Mike Martin contend that the U.S.’s rigid style is complicit in the Afghan fiasco: “The West fought the war in much the same way from beginning to end. The first airstrikes in 2001 were conducted

by B-52 bombers, the same model that first saw service in 1955; in August, the attacks that marked the end of U.S. presence came from the same venerable model of aircraft.”

On the other hand, Ankersen and Martin note the Taliban commenced and concluded the conflict drastically advanced disputing, “they began this war with AK-47s ... but today they have harnessed mobile telephony and the internet — not just to improve their weapons and their command-and-control systems, but even more crucially, to carry out their strategic communications.”

Moreover, modernized means of

communication enabled the Taliban to efficiently recruit across encrypted channels in addition to dissuading civilians against any effective resistance.

Similarly, the group’s billowing presence on social media grants and perpetuates the authority the Taliban has yearned since its 1996 inception into power.

Although a handful may counter that — as the present rulers of Afghanistan, disturbingly — the Taliban’s occupation online is tolerated due to their “state leadership.” Yet, social media companies bear responsibility for the Taliban’s reinstatement.

Fortunately, Facebook — for once — took the appropriate action years ago in banning the Taliban from its site. Its subsidiary, WhatsApp — a messaging service famed for its encryption —, nonetheless, is publicly stated by the Taliban as crucial to its governance efforts. The Taliban, before being blocked by Facebook after two days, used WhatsApp as a “complaints hotline” for

Kabul residents.

Twitter’s Taliban policy, conversely, is dreadfully more ambiguous. Currently, the Taliban’s top spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid boasts more than 300,000 followers, and Twitter claims the group may remain if they obey the rules.

Without a cohesive policy addressing a tyrannical force like the Taliban, the group’s digital network of power unceasingly reinforces itself. While the group aspires both to incite calm and fear in the citizenry with its modern communications, Silicon Valley’s absent resolution generates persistent bloodshed.

Technology, when appropriately applied, is a liberating factor to the masses. Yet, when grossly abused by repressive, medieval criminals capitalizing on its absent regulations, the freeing force is reestablished as shamefully heinous. opinions@dailyillini.com

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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SPORTS

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

13

Bielema's defense proves to be breath of fresh air

By Will Payne Assistant Sports Editor

Any winning program throughout the entirety of college football has one thing in common: a solid defense. And it’s safe to say for the past few years, Illinois has struggled in this department.

During the 2020 season, Lovie Smith’s Illini were pitiful defending their opposition. Illinois conceded 467.3 yards per game last year, ranking last in the conference. And they allowed 34.9 points per game, which put Illinois at 13th in the Big Ten. When Bielema arrived as the new head coach this past spring, he brought on several experienced assistant coaches to his staff. Ryan Walters, Kevin Kane and Andy Buh are just a few of these new arrivals for the defensive staff, and their impact has been seen immediately.

Illinois won their first game of the season 30-22 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the defense looked much improved from last year. The Illini were underdogs going into this matchup, as experts predicted the Cornhuskers to make easy work of one the weakest teams in the Big Ten. However, from the get-go, Illinois made their presence known via special teams with a safety in the first quarter.

A muffed punt and an illegal forward pass from Nebraska’s kick returner in the end zone saw Illinois go up 2-0.

After the two sides traded scores, it was all tied up at nine with less than three minutes remaining in the half. With 30 seconds to go, the defense came up with their biggest play of the game.

Illinois’ Keith Randolph Jr. sacked Nebraska’s Adrian Martinez and Calvin Hart Jr. recovered the fumble and ran 41 yards for an Illinois touchdown. This play not only gave Illinois the lead, but it gave the Illini a huge momentum boost going into the halftime locker room.

In his first game as head coach, Bret Bielema was pleased with how his defense performed against Nebraska.

However, he knows there is still much room for improvement during the next 11 games.

“I do think that for the most part we played and catered around 2 (Adrian Martinez),” Bielema said. “We did what we tried to do, but we need more depth at the outside linebacker position.

Defensively, they were opportunistic, it wasn’t just a fumble, it was a scoring fumble, which was a huge deal.”

One of the biggest question marks going into today’s game was how the Illinois defense would contain Adrian Martinez. Over the course of his

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

Senior defensive back Tony Adams holds back Nebraska wide receiver Samori Toure during the game at Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Illini came out on top with a 30-22 win against Nebraska. college career, Martinez has dominated Illinois. Although it would be impossible to limit Martinez’s impact on the game, the Illini did a fantastic job.

The Fresno, California, native went 16-32 with 232 yards and one touchdown, a relatively uneventful performance for the dual-threat quarterback. Part of the reason why Martinez was unable to play comfortably was the pressure put on him from the Illinois front seven, as the Illini sacked Martinez five times during the 60 minutes.

“We really know we’re an athletic group,” Newton said. “Martinez was fast but we know what we’re capable of. Before the season started, we knew it was due time before we would show everybody else what we could do. Now

that the season’s here, we’ll continue to do it.”

The low moment of the game for the defense came during the third quarter, as Martinez broke away from the Illinois defense for a 75-yard touchdown run.

One of the biggest indicators for Illinois’ strong defensive performance today was the time of possession. Illinois had the ball for a whopping 34:55 and Nebraska had it for 25:05. Bielema’s run-heavy offense coupled with quick defensive stops were a perfect recipe for today’s victory.

Senior Tony Adams was one of the strongest performers on the Illini defense today, as he led the defense with a team-high 11 tackles. The St.

Louis, Missouri, native was happy Illinois finished off the game, especially after the late scare from Nebraska.

“We went out there and we fought hard and came out with the W,” Adams said. “It wasn’t the cleanest game at all, we have some things we need to clean up. But that’s week one, things go wrong, but we got the win and that’s all that matters.”

Illinois hope to continue their strong defensive play when they welcome the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners to Memorial Stadium next Saturday at 6:30 p.m..

@WillPayne33 wpayne2@dailyillini.com

14

BUZZ

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

SNL's Colin Jost welcomes new students with comedy

By Amanda Brennan Contributing Writer

Live from the State Farm Center, it’s Saturday Night! As part of Welcome Week 2021, the University welcomed Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update segment host Colin Jost to campus Saturday. The show was open to new and transfer students, and it was truly a lively, exhilarating way to kick off the school year.

Students filed into the State Farm Center, filling the floor, the 100 level and even part of the 200 level. A DJ got the crowd pumped up and dancing before opening acts Maggie Winters and Calvin Evans took the stage for some short stand-up acts.

Diya Thomas, freshman in LAS, said she constantly watches clips of SNL on YouTube.

“I’m a big SNL comedy person, and I’m really excited to see Colin Jost,” she said.

“I’m just excited for the whole thing.”

This wasn’t Jost’s first time on the University campus (or as he called it, “yuke” because he claims that “we have too many nicknames for our school” and that “UIUC” doesn’t roll off the tongue easily). In fact, he was here about ten

years ago performing in a small cafeteria where he said students were more interested in the free pizza than the guy sitting on stage with a microphone.

Last Saturday, however, the tables had turned. Students in the State Farm Center were much more interested in Jost’s stand-up show than anything else going on.

He started off his show with Champaign themed jokes, including poking fun at the beloved nickname “Chambana.”

“That sounds like something you’d use to clean up champagne,” he said. “Or it’s like, do you want champagne with some banana in it?”

It was clear that he loved interacting with the audience as they shouted out silly questions and phrases.

“I love your wife!” someone in the audience said. “Thank you, me too!”

Jost responded. This was a popular interaction.

He also asked the audience what their majors were, and man, that was a fun bit.

“Accounting!” someone said. Jost responded, “Oh, I’m sorry.” “Political Science!” someone else said. “The only non-science science?” Jost asked.

In between telling funny stories

about his college experience, hilarious travel fails and his Weekend Update co-host Michael Che, he also snuck in sketches from SNL that had either been censored by NBC or not chosen in the pitch meetings.

When I saw the live taping of the SNL Season 46 finale back in May, it meant I had a front-row seat to the famous joke swap between Che and Jost during their Weekend Update segment. Well, as if those jokes weren’t dicey enough, Jost gave the audience a little taste of the jokes that did not make it on air at the event. He did a bit on the diary of Anne Frank, then a bit on Osama Bin Laden, so yeah, we know why NBC censored a few of those.

Toward the end of his show, one student yelled out, “Is this where you’re going to send your kid?” He quickly replied, “Hell yeah!” and then the crowd instantly erupted in loud, excited cheers.

So, will Cosmo be included in the class of 2043? Maybe he’ll be the next Jost to perform on the “yuke” campus.

Jost ended on a serious note by sharing his own college advice.

“I want to genuinely wish you guys a great time here at school,” he said.

“College can be the best thing of your life. If it’s weird at first or hard at first, don’t panic. It can be tough at the beginning but it gets better. Please, enjoy it.

Do everything you can to meet and find good friends. Funny friends are better because if you do something bad you can laugh about it. Please enjoy your time, that’s my message to you.”

For hardcore SNL fans, this evening of laughter and fun was a dream come true. Colin Jost on our own college campus? For free? Say no more!

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA BRENNAN

Colin Jost walks across the stage at the State Farm Center. Colin Jost preformed for freshmen and transfer students as a part of Welcome Week 2021.

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BUZZ

The DI · Wednesday, September 1, 2021

15

Still Woozy's album features avant-garde indie pop

By Sydney Wood buzz Assistant Editor

Not many artists can successfully craft a signature sound within the vast realm of the indie-pop world.

Luckily for listeners worldwide, Still Woozy not only carved his own niche in the genre, but he recently released a debut album that embodies his trademark gooey style.

Sven Eric Gamsky, known professionally as Still Woozy, released “If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is” on Aug. 13.

Gamsky’s music has a gooey quality that I haven’t heard replicated by other artists. His sound is fluid, yet his slightly blues-inspired technique of riding the backside of the beat creates a stickiness to his sound that’s deliciously addictive.

“Woof,” the album’s starting track, is one of my favorite tunes on the album and out of Gamsky’s entire discography. At its chorus, the song suddenly unfurls like a blooming flower, full of slightly muted energy and life, as if gently persuading listeners to stop and stay for the rest of the album.

“Rocky” comes next on the lineup, with its gently pulsating energy that’ll have listeners head-boppin’ by the first verse.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GENIUS

Still Woozy's new album, "If This Isn't Nice, I Don't Know What Is," was released on Aug. 13.

Next, “That’s Life” takes center stage with a funky bass line that carries the tune through verse to chorus and back to verse. The tune is super catchy, mostly because of Gamsky’s signature fluidity between song components, namely the bridge and final chorus.

In “Whoopie,” his wispy vocals bounce between lower- and upper-mid-range, using simple, repetitive vocal melodies

that are supplemented by playful percussive rhythms and sustained synth long tones.

One notable tune, “Get By,” features a slightly different side of Gamsky’s composition and is one of the album’s more intricate tunes. It gives listeners a bit of everything, from intersecting instrumental melodies, scattered vocal harmonies and, of course, a groovy chorus.

Not many songs illustrate Gamsky’s gooey sound quality like “Before You Were Mine” does. At its beginning, the tune immediately hops into a groovy, syncopated percussive rhythm interspersed with instrumental melodies that give the tune a bit of structure.

Both “Kenny” and “Window” were previous releases that were also included on the album. Gamsky released “Kenny” last April and “Window” in April 2020.

Though the tunes are not unpleasant to listen to, they’re a bit too old to justify including them on the album.

“All Along’’ uses complementing instrumentals and harmonies to bring the chorus to a God-tier groove level while the steady drum rhythms keep the tempo and fill any gaps between the verse-to-chorus transitions. Gamsky’s voice takes on a

more powerful tone during the chorus, contrasting a bit with his typical softer, breathy voice.

“These Days,” the last tune on the album, embodies the soft moment after the last firework of the night is set off — the moment right after it hurtles into the sky and booms, leaving a faint smell of gunpowder and a quiet, almost subdued mood.

The tune lets listeners sit with the album, almost as if Gamsky is saying one last goodbye to his listeners before the record concludes. It’s not a high-energy finisher, but it embodies the quintessential Still Woozy sound and is the perfect closer to the album.

“If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is” is made for late-night drives, long walks and those moments where you’re lying on your bed, staring at the ceiling and having a minor existential crisis.

Gamsky’s music is a whimsical alcove within the bountiful garden of the indiepop genre, and his debut album showcases his imaginative, avant-garde approach to music composition and fearlessness to delve headfirst into the unknown. swood2@readbuzz.com

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